Global Courant
EXCLUSIVE: A US congressman who served as a nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy is calling on troops to take action in the search for a missing tourist submarine destined for the wreckage of the Titanic that disappeared on Sunday.
“I spent 500 days at sea on a submarine, so my heart really goes out to the missing crew members and their families. The United States Navy must step forward and do everything possible to locate that submarine as soon as possible,” said Rep. . Brandon Williams, RN.Y., told Fox News Digital Monday night.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) confirmed to Fox earlier today that they were currently searching for a lost Titan submarine. Tourists can charter the small craft for visits to the Titanic via OceanGate Expeditions (OGE), which recently announced on social media new mission crews for a North Atlantic voyage.
Rep. Brandon Williams, RN.Y., is seen outside the Capitol during the final ballots of the week on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“We have the best sonar operators in the world, we have the best sonar equipment in the world, and locating the missing submarine is the first step in recovering the crew – time is against us. needed,” said Williams.
Williams, who joined the Navy in 1991, volunteered as a nuclear submarine officer and attended the Navy’s grueling nuclear engineering training. He completed six strategic deterrence patrols aboard the USS Georgia, serving as a Strategic Missile Officer, before retiring from the Army in 1996.
He stressed the need to waste no time saving the lost submarine in a Tweet he posted earlier Monday.
“(US Navy) – Deploy a nuclear submarine to find our civilian friends (OceanGate Expeditions). Don’t delay, get the best sonar operators in the world to rescue the lost submarine and its crew while there’s still hope! ” He wrote.
TITANIC EXPERT ‘VERY HOPEFUL’ MISSING OCEANGATE TOURIST SUBMARINE WILL BE FOUND
The Coast Guard says there are five people aboard the missing vessel, consisting of a crew member and four “mission specialists”, and it is conducting an aerial survey of the vehicle, which is designed to surface automatically if there are technical problems.
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to safely return the crew,” OceanGate announced in a statement. “Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submarine and their families. We are deeply grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from various government agencies and deep-sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submarine. We are working for its safe return of the crew.”
The USCG Northeast deployed a C-130 aircraft to search the surface for the vehicle. Rescue Coordination Center Halifax has also deployed a P-8 Poseidon aircraft, which can drop sonar buoys to search underwater. Other planes are en route from both the US and Canada.
COAST GUARD VET DETAILS ‘UNCOMFORTABLE, DARK’ SCENARIO TITANIC TITANIC TOURIST UNDERCREW PROBABLY EXPERIENCED
The ballistic missile submarine USS Alabama docks at the Marginal Pier at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor after a strategic deterrent patrol, June 8, 2012, in Bangor, Washington. (US Navy photo by Ray Narimatsu/Released)
The Titan submarine is advertised as having enough life support to keep five people alive for 96 hours, meaning rescuers have another 72 hours to find the vehicle unless it suffers a catastrophic failure and fails to surface.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Anders Hagstrom of Fox News contributed to this report.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
